Neosho, MO — Crowder College announced today that it will join #CCMonth, a monthlong grassroots education and stigma-busting campaign coordinated by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). The primary goals of #CCmonth are to improve awareness of the economic, academic and equity advantages of attending community colleges and to bust longtime stigmas wrongly associated with public two-year colleges.
“The past year has proved beyond any doubt that our college is absolutely vital to our community and our state,” Dr. Katricia Pierson, president, Crowder College said. “#CCMonth is an opportunity to reach out into both and to demonstrate not only that community colleges should be the first choice of many collegegoers, but why community colleges are first-class institutions that are vital to our local and state economies.”
Public community colleges are a uniquely American educational model designed to guarantee all people access to affordable, high-quality higher education. They are the primary educators of life-saving nursing and other healthcare professionals, among many others. They also serve as an onramp to bachelor’s, master’s and higher-level degrees for many students, and particularly for the most demographically and socioeconomically diverse students. They guarantee fair admissions for all students. They offer support for adult students who must work to support their families. And without community colleges, many American students would not be able to access higher education at all.
In short, community colleges were created to serve the needs of their communities, and they do it exceptionally well.
Despite all this, many American people wrongly believe that community colleges are inferior institutions, and in most states, universities receive significantly more per-student state support than community colleges do. These negative attitudes and disparities support and encourage ongoing socioeconomic and demographic disadvantages and inequities in the United States.
“Community colleges are engines of diversity, equity and inclusion,” said ACCT President and CEO Jee Hang Lee. “They give opportunities to all students, and they support all students throughout their educations, whether they attend to attain an associate degree or certificate, intend to transfer on for a bachelor’s or higher degree, or take one or a few courses to learn a new skill or expand their horizons.”
Last year’s #CCMonth campaign made millions of impressions across social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Crowder College is a two-year community college located in southwest Missouri. The college provides over 80 degree and program opportunities for students planning to enter the workforce or transfer to a university. Crowder College has its main campus in Neosho with instructional centers in Cassville, Joplin Advanced Training and Technology Center, McDonald County, Nevada, and Webb City. Find out more: www.Crowder.edu or call 417.451.3223.
